Not your everyday spook
by Tervos
Summary: Strange stuff starts to happen, shortly after Judy moved in. I ain't telling you more. May contain traces of horror, and shipping. Author looking for criticism, too.
1. Chapter 1

It was a nice morning all over down-town Zootopia.

Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and leaves could be heard rustling in a light breeze outside.  
On days like these, the sky was always pretty clear. There even was a bit of dawn fog this time, too.

A slice of sunlight went through the room's blinds, and touched the bunny's closed eyes.

She stretched her arms up as she let out a big yawn. Or rather, as she tried to; There was something that was  
restraining her. A weight that was burdening her to the bed.

It took her a small instant, but then she remembered. She had an excuse, though. Getting used to this kind of big change usually takes a while.

"Nick, get your paws off of me."

No answer.

"I'm supposed to be on-duty this afternoon, mister Fox."

"You have the right to remain silent, miss Hopps." said a raspy morning voice behind her.

Judy smiled. "Sly fox!"

"But that doesn't stop you from being a sly bunny, does it ?"

That was a nice opportunity she took. No more loud neighbours, shoddy floor, franken-wall, favela tier thermal insulation, and more importantly  
no more loneliness! But we're talking about the other kind of loneliness here, when you're kind of head over heels for someone else,  
and that someone else's not with you.

But there was just one thing, one thing it could have been a 10 out of 10 without.  
Judy was sitting on the side of the bed, resuming the stretch she didn't finish, when suddenly;

"Nicholas, get over here and move your socks upstairs pronto!"

A faint _slap_ was heard across the room; That was Judy facepalming, her head tilted down with one of her arms still raised.  
Behind her, Nick let out a muffled sigh after burying his face into his pillow.

They perhaps should have gotten a new house, or a flat for themselves alone.  
This would have made things a bit more difficult to manage, but that would certainly have made up for better mornings, sometimes.

The fox rolled on his back.

"I don't wear socks, mom!"

"Then what are those, Nicholas ?!"

Nick's mother used to be a pretty sweet person when he was still a kit.  
Caring and affectionate, all while remaining reasonable, she was everything a little fox could have hoped for when it came to moms.  
She changed a lot after his father passed away, though. Truly, stuff slowly started going downhill from here.  
But Nick understood her reaction better and better over the years - Losing someone you cared about, specifically when everything is doing good and that's what you expect the least.  
He tried to do a lot to help her with that, and he still tries to. That's partly why he decided to stay here.

"Nicholas, I thought you were coming downstairs to help me figure out whose these are ?!"

"I am, mom!", he replied whilst he was on one leg, hastily trying to put on his beige pants.

Judy took a glance at him.

"That's too bad."

"What's it, carrots ?"

"I preferred you without them."

"Now that's just fan service !"

The fox opened the bedroom's door, and headed downstairs.

 _squeak_

The house had one of those wooden, noisy staircases with extra-small steps.  
The second one from the top was particularly creaky.

"I'm here, mom."

Nick's mother was cleaning the living room's table, a dust wand at hand.

"I heard that. And where's your friend Judy, Nicholas ?"

"She's getting ready, upstairs." he said while pointing his thumb behind him.

"Here, do you know whose are they ?" She pointed her finger at the couch, and Nick took a glance.

They were black socks, with white stripes on them. Nothing special.

"Nobody here wears socks, mom."

"If I see that trash panda looting our garbage again..."

 _squeak_

Their heads turned towards the staircase.

"Good morning, Mrs. Wilde !" happily said the bunny, coming down from the first floor. She was a morning person.

"Hello, Judy. Did you sleep well tonight ?"

"Yes, the mattress is very comfortable, Mrs. Wilde. Thanks."

"I'm glad to hear this, Judy."

"What were you two talking about ?"

"We were talking about a sock ghost!"

A hard day of work. That's something you can only accomplish if you're taking your job seriously, no matter how vigorously you try.  
Judy didn't get so far with the ZPD simply out of luck, that's for sure. She was determined. She took every single case as unique, even for the smallest ones.

One of the best things about working hard, is the feeling you get when you're finally done.  
The part where you get home, take a steamy shower, have a taste of Nick's mother five-star dishes, and eventually go to bed. With Nick.  
And not only because there's no second bed upstairs, if you know what I mean.

"I heard you say I made up for a 'very comfortable' mattress this morning, isn't that right ?"

"You're such a tease, Nick."

Not a noise was to be heard in the house, or even outside. The whole city bloc was already sleeping by that hour.  
The lights were all off, the door was closed, and it was pretty warm, too.  
Not to mention that both foxes and rabbits are warm-blooded. That's teamwork indeed.

"That's the whole point, carrots. My ribcage hurts like hell now, though."

Judy slid her hand over the fox's furry chest.

"Guess what time it is, mister fox ?"

"Fan service time ?"

 _squeak_

"Oh, that is blatantly perfect."

"I thought your mother was supposed to be asleep ?"

Nick took a glance at the alarm clock.

"Yes, she is."

"Then what was that ?"

"That's just the sound the staircase makes. Don't you recognise it ?"

"It's just that it startled me a bit. I'm still not used to this house."

"Don't worry about it, bunhun. Now, where were w-"

 _SQUEAK._

"Again ? Come on now."

The fox switched the bedside lamp on, and dragged the bedsheets aside.

"Nick, what are you doing ?"

"I can investigate crimes too, now. If you see a monster, just scream!"


	2. Chapter 2

The fox left the room, leaving the door half-open behind him.

He disappeared into the first floor's darkness, turning into a silhouette, and vanishing.

Judy was left there, alone, and with the bedside lamp as only light source. Nick's footsteps on the creaky floor were fading away.

It kind of felt like these moments as a kid, when you were naive enough to think bed sheets could protect you from sharp-clawed, blood thirsty demons.

Nick's footsteps suddenly stopped. The house was completely silent - the only thing she could hear was her own breath getting shakier and shakier, as well as her little pounding heart.

In hopes of perceiving something, the bunny froze her body and stared at the dark spot of the half-open door.

Did she just see something move ?

"...Nick ?"

No answer.

The bunny grabbed the tip of the bed cover with both of her hands, and raised it just above her nose.

"Nick, is that you ?"

 _scratch... scratch... scratch..._

There was someone inside the very room, but she couldn't see anything.  
The noise kept getting closer, and even closer - Then, it stopped right next to the bed.

Nearly frozen in place, Judy turned her head.

She was face to face with a huge abomination, rising from the floor, just a few inches from her face!

She filled her lungs with air, preparing to let out a sheer scream - But it was too late; A paw was already covering her mouth, preventing her from saying the faintest word.  
That was it, it ended now.

"Judy, keep it down ! You don't want to wake my mother up." whispered Nick.

The fox took his paw off the bunny's mouth.

She gave the fox a blank stare. Then, her sweaty face started turning red.

"Are you alright, Ju-"

And then she slapped him in the face.

"...That definitely woke my mother up." said the former sly fox, rubbing his cheek with his hand.

"Never scare me like that again, Nick !"

"I think my cheek's broken."

"Did you find anything ?"

"No, nothing." said the fox. "I told you, the house's starting to get a bit old, that's all."

 _squeak._

A strong and powerful light shined from just behind the doorway. They could barely look at it; The brightness was unbearable.

"Finally." said a deep voice, resonating amongst the walls. "I was tired of being gone."


	3. Chapter 3

"Nicholas, are you there ?" pursued the low-pitched tone.

The bunny and the fox were both staring at the wobbly shape standing right behind the door, its reflection visible in their eyes.

"WE ARE GOING TO **DIE** , NICK !"

A door opened on the side of the floor's hall, and Nick's mother crossed the doorway, still wearing her nightdress. It had tiny croissant moons on it, how cool.

"What's with all this noise, Nicholas ?! I'm trying to sl-"

 **"MRSWILDEBEHINDYOUTURNAROUND !"**

"Oh, are we being burgled ?!"

She turned around and switched on the floor's lights. She stared down the staircase for a few seconds.

"Well Judy, I don't see anything." said Nick's mother, giving them a confused look for a second or two. She switched the lights off again.

"You two have a good night together." said as she walked back to her bedroom. "What's left of it, anyway." she mumbled.

Her door closed.

"...That was something." said Judy, both of her eyes wide open, her paws still grasping Nick's shoulders.

"I-Indeed." The fox looked like he just went through a near-death experience.

It was a pretty nice morning all over down-town Zootopia.

Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and leaves could be heard rustling in a light breeze.  
On days like these, the sky was always pretty clear. There even was a bit of dawn fog this time, too.

A slice of sunlight went through the room's blinds, and touched the bunny's opened eyes.

"What ?! It's already morning ?!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Nick ! You forgot the turn signals again."

"I needed a few hours of sleep more, hunbun. Bunhun."

The engine stopped.

Central Zootopia's library. A few famous writers occasionally visited, but that's something you've got to expect in this kind of city.  
Very luxurious-looking. And it was squeaky clean all the time ! It was a big place, with lots of floors, lots of books, lots of everything.  
That's why they opted for the local neighbourhood's one instead.  
Nick's mother came here to get a new bedside book every few weeks. Cheero, the place's holder, was also a pretty good excuse to come here.

A small chime played as they opened the door.

"Nick, Judy ! What can I do for you two ?"

Cheero. The croco ! Undeniably, his parents hated him.  
He wasn't as tough looking as the other crocos but he was a nice guy, and not everyone voluntarily worked on a Sunday.

The two Holmes aspirants needed something that was going to tell them more about what happened this night. Something legitimate.  
Cheero did have that one book about supernatural things. Besides, it was written by Mr. Blook, a famous ghost himself.

Judy hopped on Nick's lap, with no intent of making a narrative pun.  
She slid her hand on the dusty cover, and opened the old grimoire.

"Let's get to it, Nick."

But then she started hearing a faint snoring above her.

"Nick ?"

No feedback, check signal cable.

Judy gave his flank a small elbow bump. Nick opened his eyes out of surprise.

"You have quite a punch for a bunny."

"We've got work to do, rascal."


End file.
